I love it!
This is what cars are for. Getting out there and driving. I have more respect for a scratched up car with k's on the odometer than some low KM every night in the garage thing.
I love it!
This is what cars are for. Getting out there and driving. I have more respect for a scratched up car with k's on the odometer than some low KM every night in the garage thing.
You might want to get rid of the wheels and put on some steel ones? Those alloys and low profile tyres won't last too well. Probably put a tuff bullbar on it too. Are you going to lift it up? Those jacked up Ford Utes from a few years ago would have been right up your street.
I think everyone thought you were building a street ute. Looks good and sounds like it suits what you want though!
I think you're right about the rims, they will have to do for now though, have been looking at rally tyres, some really tough stuff in car sizes.
A small body lift, say 2" might be in order, however I want to show other car/2WD drivers that they can get to these places, so if I modify too much it might ruin the deal.
Rather than a Tuff bar I am hoping to get a steel nudge bar custom fabricated, it will hold some Fyrlyt driving lights, cover the engine bay air intakes and run along the front lip, might have to settle here as the laws are tight as to what shape a bar can be.
For antennas (GPS, 3G, VHF and UHF) I'm thinking of reinforcing a section of the rear canopy roof and have them fold forwards on swivel brackets for city times. Rather than on a front bar or roof rack.
The camper will be a classic drawer under bed style, pull out kitchen on one side and storage on the other. I really like the Drifta kitchens, light weight timber construction and Teflon slides. Would be great if the bed platform could come right out for those fine nights by the fire under the stars.
Maybe get crazy and put some of those solar film panels on the canopy rise, nice angle and wouldn't ruin the profile. Hell, I've even thought of a moon roof over the bedhead for star gazing.
Like so many of these projects, the limit is cash more than imagination.
You might find you cannot get a custom front bar because of the air bags
has to meet code and safety
i have seen ARB bars cut up and turned into 5 posters to get around the air bag thing. They actually make a bar like you want for 4WD's. They might make one for yours?
I think the bullbar regs are fairly lenient really. Nothing like all the hoopla made everyone think a couple of years ago.
ECB made some nice ones for the S1 VF but won't update them for S2, I have pleaded. No one else has a factory one, unless you count the plastic thing Holden put out.
JJ bullbars and allracks in Brisbane have both said they can custom fabricate one that is ADR compliant, I have a weird design in mind that I hope is doable.
I don't want to go overboard with a 5 poster, don't like the look on a small Ute like mine. If I ever build a Land Cruiser though...
A nudge bar, a shoo roo and smart driving should keep me away from big strikes. No dawn or dusk on quiet roads.
Yeah I have seen it done. I didn't mention anything about it being legal though.
The rules are not too tough though. The only addition to any of the tough bull bars I have had were a small piece of RHS in the mount and a piece of conveyor belt which I think was to remove some vibration. As far as I could see there was really no modification needed to the mounts at all for the air bag. The ARB one I had was the same. I fitted the ARB and the last Tuff bar.
As for shape, they need to follow the contour of the car, have no sharp edges or forward facing protrusions. No doubt it's worded more amazingly than that though.
I must add that these bars were all on cars with a full chassis. I couldn't say what they have to do on a monocoque car.
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Fair enough.
Last edited by wbute; 24-03-2017 at 10:38 PM.
Mate, did you think of buying a Sandman ute second hand as there are some for sale with virtually no K's on them.
I have a mental picture of your description of the outback roads you intend to travel and I am very envious. Wish I could do it !! But then I also picture a 2WD ute and rain. But at the end of the day you have a great looking ute and I'm jealous of the country driving you'll be doing. Good luck with it 'Camper'![]()
Disclaimer: I am not an expert.
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